UPSC issues notification extending 5 years age relaxation to J&K

Last updated Feb 16, 2018

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A decision that would benefit thousands of youths aspiring for Civil Services Examinations this year, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Thursday issued a notification extending age relaxation of five years exclusively for the candidates of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), headed by Union Minister of State (MoS) in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh had taken up the matter with the UPSC after the issue was raised with him by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti as the UPSC had stopped five years age relaxation in the Civil Services Examinations for Jammu and Kashmir, which was going on since 1990.

The upper age limit for general category is 32 and for reserved category, there is age relaxation as per the category. It is five years for SC/ ST, three years for OBC and Defence Services Personnel, disabled in operations categories and so on. Candidates from Jammu and Kashmir have been receiving age relaxation, however, the UPSC in its CSE 2018 notification has removed age relaxation.

Dr Jitendra Singh, who was in Arunachal Pradesh today, also spoke to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who was in Ajmer Sharief in Rajasthan, on telephone and conveyed to her the decision of UPSC and subsequent issuance of notification for extending age relaxation in the Civil Services examinations.
The Chief Minister expressed her gratitude to Dr Jitendra Singh for taking initiative with the UPSC and getting restored the age relaxation for candidates of Jammu and Kashmir.

Following uproar in the Legislative Assembly and protests by Civil Services aspirants, Mehbooba Mufti had spoken to Dr Jitendra Singh.

Dr Jitendra Singh immediately took up the issue with the UPSC in view of concerns voiced by the Chief Minister and thousands of students from all three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, and got the issue settled.

However, it has extended the age relaxation on the intervention of Dr Jitendra Singh but dropped enough indications that the relaxations might be confined and don’t last long.